


Fast Friends

by Fireandwine



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Full Disclosure: There's Not Actually an Award, Kid Fic, M/M, Magnus Just Hella Fancies Him, Magnus is thirsty af, Misunderstandings, Pining, Single Parents, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-13 18:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21196223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireandwine/pseuds/Fireandwine
Summary: Magnus can’t believe there’s someone at his kid’s school that deserves the Hot Dad of the Year Award more than he does.He’s not exactly unhappy about it.





	Fast Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all, here’s some hella softness for you.
> 
> I’ve recently discovered that live-tweeting is a thing and I’m absolutely in love with it. If that’s your jam too and you want to tweet about this, I’ll be following #FastFriendsFic

_Monday_

Birdsong gradually lures Magnus to wakefulness. He rubs his eyes with the heals of his palms, thankful he had the wherewithal last night to manage a cursory wipe of his face with a cosmetic wipe. He’s been tired recently, often working at home later in the evenings and waking to find his pillow smeared with the makeup he’s forgotten to remove the night before.

It’s too early in the day for late fall sunlight to peek its way through the blinds just yet, but dawn casts a gentle morning glow around the room as Magnus shuffles himself to a sitting position against his plump silk pillows. 

Letting out half a yawn, Magnus glances over to the clock on his bedside table. The orange LED number ticks over to 6.27 and Magnus realizes he’s actually not unhappy to have woken a few minutes before his alarm is due. 

Because today is Monday.

Today is a school day.

*

Magnus grins as Rafael bolts through the gates, a quick hug around the waist and a hurried “Love you, Dad!” all he gets before the small boy is racing away from him to join his friends. 

Magnus had been so grateful to Catarina for gently encouraging him to consider Brooklyn Heights Elementary School. In the end he’d chosen it over the alternative options due to its smaller size and because Rafael was able to get the extra support when he needed it, in a much more relaxed way. Given how shy and anxious of change Rafael had always been, Magnus had worried about exposing him to the screaming hoards some of the larger schools catered to. 

The highlight of Magnus’ work week quickly became the walk with Rafael from home to the school gates. Even at the open day when Magnus had taken his first look around, the school had been very upfront in encouraging pedestrian drop-offs. Magnus was now able to linger with the other parents in the quaint schoolyard whilst watching Rafael become more and more comfortable, gradually making his way further out of his shell. 

Watching on as Rafael chats animatedly about his weekend with his friends near the play equipment, Magnus gave a satisfied hum to himself.

This was definitely the best reason for having chosen this school.

Well, that, and the other reason.

The other six-foot-three reason.

Magnus sighs wistfully as Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome rounds the corner and enters through the gates on the other side of the schoolyard, his daughter’s small fist clutched gently in his own. 

The man is just so dreamy.

“Magnus, you really need to stop eying that poor man up in such a way across the children’s playground. It’s obscene.”

“Good morning to you too, Cat,” Magnus greets sarcastically. He allows himself one more longing look before turning fully to face his friend.

Catarina smirks straight at him. Dressed comfortably today, in jeans and a shirt as opposed to the scrubs she often frequents, Magnus assumes that given Catarina hasn’t already asked him to pick up Madzie this afternoon, she must have a whole day off rather than just be working a later shift.

Madzie tugs insistently on her mom’s hand from her spot by her side then waits patiently, staring up at her.

“Yes, Madzie?” Catarina queries lightly, breaking her pointed gaze from Magnus to look at her daughter.

“Can I go find Raf?” Madzie requests softly, looking between her mom and Magnus whilst she swings a leg, gently scuffing her bright sneaker along the floor. 

“Of course, kiddo. Can I get a kiss before you go?”

Catarina leans down and gets a smooch on the side of her face for her efforts. Madzie’s attention turns back to Magnus and she looks at him expectantly until he crouches down with a loving roll of his eyes for a kiss of his own.

“Good to see you, Sweet Pea,” Magnus says affectionately as he circles his arms around her for a quick hug.

“Bye, Uncle Magnus,” she whispers in his ear before hurrying off to locate Rafael who’s making his way over to the smaller slide with two other children their age. 

Magnus moves to stand, risking another peek off to his left where he can see the gorgeous man bathed in morning sunlight, lips curling into a soft smile as he chats away with one of the few other dads.

Damn that man and damn his smile. Magnus watches as the apples of his cheeks plump out, his eyes sparkling.

Catarina chuckles at Magnus’ not so subtle attempt at checking the guy out. “I hear he baked cookies for his daughter’s birthday just so she could bring them in to school for everyone.”

Magnus groans, acutely aware that Catarina enjoys this far too much. 

Magnus had also heard about the big, fat, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. It had taken more than a week for Magnus to get the mental image of the handsome man, stood at a kitchen counter using a cookie-cutter with dustings of flour in his hair and on his nose, out of his head. 

The man bakes Goddamn homemade cookies for kids that aren’t even his own and he’s so wholesome it’s starting to hurt Magnus’ heart.

It’s also perhaps one of the main reasons Magnus wants to ruin him so thoroughly.

“I would eat more than his cookies,” Magnus grumbles to himself. “The man is a saint. It makes me want to defile him.”

The bark of laughter the comment startles out of Catarina is enough for Magnus to internally cringe at his own response. This whole thing has already gotten way out of hand but he just can’t help himself. There had always been something he’d found insanely attractive about masculine men looking after their daughters. It doesn’t hurt that this man has the most breathtaking smile Magnus has ever seen. 

Catarina bumps her shoulder against his, vibrating from some of the laughter she has managed to contain inside herself. She shakes her head affectionately at him but thankfully doesn’t say anymore.

* * *

_Tuesday_

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’d been asking me to do school drop-offs and pick-ups less and less since the school play. You’re not as inconspicuous as you think you are,” Catarina pauses to grin at him teasingly. “As much as we all know how much you love Raf, you and I both know you have a lot of work you should be getting on with, rather than ogling handsome men you’ve managed to say all of one word to.”

Magnus lets out a laugh at himself and rolls his eyes. Catarina has, as always, hit the nail on the head with unerring accuracy.

Admittedly, Magnus has also been getting Rafael to school that little bit earlier for his school drop-offs to try and catch an extra glimpse of Mr Dark and Dreamy, but Catarina doesn’t need to know about that. And he’s certainly not going to tell her that he’s been clocking a couple extra hours of work each evening once Rafael is in bed. Or the fact that he now only wears his best coat on school days.

Magnus only has himself to blame for Catarina noticing the direct correlation between his increased attendance at the school gates and the date of the school play. He’d relayed over a few too many glasses of dry white wine one Friday evening, whilst the two of them had decompressed from work, that Magnus had attended Rafael’s _(Back to) School Play_ the night before.

Magnus had rushed from work, one of the few days he’d been called in to the office that month, and arrived dangerously close to the start time of the show. He had seen the last two available seats in the back row and begrudgingly shuffled himself onto one of the undersized seats. Sat uncomfortably atop a chair that was very clearly too small for an adult human, he waited for the lights to be dimmed and the first act to start.

If it weren’t for Rafael’s love of performing Magnus would have called it a day then and there and instead have chosen to wait outside. He felt like he was packed in the same way as a sardine in a tin can, mildly jostling the petite woman next to him who gave him a sad look of commiseration as she tried to adjust herself and get comfortable as well.

Magnus gave her a small smile in apology before making the executive decision to scoot one seat over, to the other chair he’d snuck passed at the end of the row in order to get to his current spot. He’d thought to leave it vacant in case of any other late-comers, but given they were only - Magnus took a peek at his watch - one minute from starting, he thought it was worth the risk for a little more leg room.

He had just started to raise himself up slightly and begin the lean to his left when a large figure rushed in next to him, attempting to quietly tuck his frame into the tiny seat next to Magnus’. 

Magnus chuckled to himself lowly, if he’d thought he’d needed more leg room then this man certainly did. His eyes tracked up the man’s firm legs where they’re clad in dark jeans, and Magnus’ eyebrows shot up at just how far those legs go. 

Glancing up, Magnus’ back snapped ram-rod straight as he took in the 5 o’clock shadow over pale skin, kind hazel eyes and lopsided smile. 

The chair’s new occupant was watching him expectantly, and if the crooked grin was anything to go by, he had noticed Magnus had spent a fair few seconds checking him out.

A polite “Hi,” greeted him. Under normal circumstances Magnus was sure he would have been able to formulate a more articulate response, but the early evening sun had been shining in low through the blinds of the auditorium, picking out the gold and green hues of the man’s eyes. 

Magnus’ eloquence had completely failed him. He’d tried to swallow around his dry tongue whilst his heart rate had flickered up into overdrive. He cleared his throat and brought his hand up to fiddle with his ear cuff in a nervous gesture he was already berating himself for. 

“Hey,” Magnus managed, just as one of the teachers took to the stage to welcome everyone for the evening’s entertainment and the audience was suddenly swallowed in silence.

It felt like the longest play Magnus had ever been to in his entire life. Scene after scene of children stumbling over lines adorably whilst Magnus tried to control his breathing, sat wedged against someone that smelled like pure sin. 

Magnus inhaled the earthy, peppery scent of the man’s cologne, desperate for the final act to come to a close to allow him to introduce himself properly, when one of the teaching assistants approached Mr Unbelievably Gorgeous and laid a gentle hand on his arm. She quietly informed him that his daughter had tripped backstage and grazed her knee, and although everything was fine, given that she knew her dad was in the audience, she was asking for him.

With that, the epitome of every single one of Magnus’ new fantasies had been pulled away. The warmth from where they had been pressed together all evening, Magnus’ silk clad arm against the fabric of the other man’s chunky cable knit sweater, abruptly deserted him.

The man turned and offered Magnus a tight lipped but friendly smile, before Magnus just sat there, having to watch the man be escorted out of the hall to where his no doubt tearful daughter must have been waiting.

And so Magnus’, perhaps best described as immense, crush had begun.

Catarina had confirmed, wine glass clutched in hand later that Friday night, that Tall, Dark and Handsome was the dad of a girl in Madzie and Raf’s class, to which Magnus had outlandishly proclaimed that at least it would make collecting the kids from school easier when they were married… And Catarina had promptly fallen off the couch with the force of her cackling.

October had turned into November.

Tall, Dark and Ridiculously Good Looking was still in line for the Hot Dad of the Year Award, and Magnus was still completely infatuated with him.

“Cat,” Magnus berates softly. “We swore we would never speak of our dizzy water confessions in front of the kids.”

Catarina’s eyes sparkle with the same mirth that he’d seen during their initial conversation. She makes a show of zipping her mouth closed and throwing an imaginary key behind her. She smiles, but doesn’t speak as she starts to re-wrap the maroon scarf that’s fallen off her right shoulder with the effort of her mimed action.

“In all seriousness, though, thanks again for agreeing to pick him up after school for the rest of the week,” Magnus says.

Catarina had been right when she had said that Magnus did have work he needed to be doing. Although Magnus was able to work from home the majority of the time, the more regular school runs had been eating into his daytime hours and he was getting pretty tired from trying to claw those hours back before bed. Cutting down on the pick-ups would allow him to get back into a more manageable routine. Magnus won’t go so far as to explicitly tell Catarina that he’d decided to chose morning drop-offs every day, rather than the pick-ups, because he knew it would give him more time and opportunity to see Mr Tall, Dark and Sometimes Broody. Catarina knows him well enough. He doesn’t need to verbalize what level of school gates stalker he has turned into.

“Of course, it’s fine,” Catarina replies.

Magnus glances over towards the other set of school gates to see the man has arrived. He is kneeling behind his daughter, his brow furrowed in extreme concentration, eyebrows glued together and only separated by a tiny wrinkle of skin as he expertly re-braids the ends of his little girl’s long blond hair. He stands, squinting in the early but bright sun as he does so, then offers her a smile, pushing her gently to go join some of the other children while he watches her bag.

Oh, Christ. Magnus nearly groans out loud but recovers just in time. He’d seen the girl at the school play, before he knew she was _his_ daughter, and Magnus had initially made the shitty assumption that the child’s mother had been the one to braid her hair. Once he’d realized whose child she was, and due to the fact that Magnus’ gaydar wasn’t completely busted, he had quickly hoped instead that some other female relative was the person who regularly constructed the woven designs that intricately criss-cross the little girl’s hair. But, no. 

Apparently Mr Sexier Than Anyone Magnus Has Ever Seen also deserves the moniker of Mr Braids His Daughter’s Hair Perfectly Every Morning.

Magnus was done for. 

*

“Hey, Dad?” Rafael asks. He sticks his tongue back out between his small teeth, concentrating on adding the topcoat of polish to the nails of his left hand. He’s definitely getting better at this. Magnus will probably need less than a minute this time to tidy up his son’s efforts once finished.

“Yes, darling?” Magnus responds from his perch on the opposite end of the couch, glancing up at Rafael from where he’s using a darker shade of polish to paint his toes.

“Can my friend Max come over this weekend?” Rafael requests openly. 

Magnus pauses, vaguely remembering Madzie talking about a Max a few weeks ago when he’d asked her if she’d made any new friends this year so far. He’s pleased. Rafael and Madzie had both been painfully shy when they’d first started school, only really wanting to spend time in each other’s company. Last year had seen lots of big changes in both of them, but Rafael making a friend by himself, without some form of parental input, was another big achievement.

“Tell you what,” Magnus eventually says, taking the opportunity to barter with his son, “if you can get all the sums from your homework done before seven, then you can invite your friend to come over on Saturday.” Magnus doesn’t need to check the clock that hangs on the wall behind them to know this will leave Rafael with more than enough time to complete the task, even without the prize at the end to spur him on. 

In spite of this, Rafael sighs in exasperation, as if Magnus had asked him to single-handedly launch a space shuttle to his favorite planet. “_Fine_,” he agrees begrudgingly. A small pout spoils his soft features and Magnus fights to stifle an amused chuckle at his son’s dramatics. 

Finishing up with a few final strokes of the dark, glittering nail polish, Magnus wiggles his toes to assess them properly. Nodding in satisfaction, he turns fully to face Rafael, offering his hand out in invitation. “Want me to do your right?”

Rafael seems to consider it but ultimately agrees. Magnus knows he’s still conscious of not being as steady with his left hand when trying to paint the other.

“So what’s this Max like, then?” Magnus queries, moving Rafael’s polish and placing it within reaching distance on the coffee table so he won’t have to keep stretching for it.

Rafael’s face immediately lights up and Magnus can’t help but smile at his sudden reaction. 

“Amazing!” Rafael shouts. “We play hopscoth together every recess and Max is the best in class at spelling.”

Magnus smiles broadly, warmth blossoming in his chest as he reaches out and starts painting the nails of Rafael’s right hand. It was still a surprise to Magnus, although it was becoming less so, when Rafael could compliment other children on their achievements rather than thinking it made him look stupid. That school really had done amazing things for his boy.

“Sounds wonderful, sweetheart.”

* * *

_Wednesday_

Magnus is pretty sure Catarina is going to admit him to the hospital with how irregularly his heart is pounding.

Mr Soft Bedroom Eyes had clearly not had time for his regular coffee at home today, as evidenced when he lifts the metal thermos to his lips. His hair is messier than normal and his hazel eyes look soft and still sleepy. Thermos days aren’t the standard, but about once a week that thermos will be clutched lovingly between nimble fingers, a lifeline for the man to make it through the morning. There are days where the thermos means Mr Gorgeous turns into Mr Adorable Grumpy Cat due to his lack of caffeine intake, and although Magnus certainly enjoys those mornings, he prefers the days when Mr Soft Bedroom Eyes makes an appearance. 

Magnus daydreams of waking up early next to him and getting up to make him coffee each morning. The reality is that before Rafael arrived Magnus would use his ability to work from home to lay in until gone eleven and would just finish his working day later. The need for beauty sleep and lazy mornings were swiftly taken over entirely by the responsibility of caring for a small child, and although he was always up before Rafael, he still found it painful. He thinks, though, that if he had Mr Perfect Eyelashes between his sheets that Magnus would manage to roll out of bed early enough to make coffee for them both three times a week before they got up properly. Perhaps twice.

This morning Mr Soft Bedroom Eyes is drowsily watching as his daughter bounces merrily with a large group of kids, all linked hand in hand to form a large circle. Even Rafael has joined in, clutching a taller Asian boy’s wrist tightly as the circle rotates haphazardly. 

Magnus slowly becomes conscious of the fact that Catarina is still talking to him but not a single word is getting through. He’s far too distracted. 

“Cat, please can you let me have this moment where I can longingly stare at that beautiful man without interruption… Please, just two minutes of no parenting talk where I can fully immerse myself in this perfect love story.”

“Love?” Catarina mocks him amiably. 

Magnus feels the blush swiftly flood his cheeks and quickly tears his eyes away, refocusing on Catarina where he discovers her quirking an extremely amused eyebrow. 

“I’m not saying I’m in love with him,” Magnus swiftly rebukes. “Give me some credit,” he attempts to brush her off hastily, but of all of his friends, Catarina is the one person who knows the extent his crushes can grow to. How fast and fully Magnus can fall. She was the one who binge-watched replays of Irish Rugby Union matches when he was going through his Rob Kearney phase. But she was also the one who was there to help him pick up the pieces after Camille. Ever present and all knowing, Catarina has always helped him look after his heart.

Magnus wills the warmth of his cheeks to diminish, hoping that anyone else in the schoolyard will put the pinkness in them down to the November chill. Unfortunately, Catarina maintains the arched brow, leveling him with an insistent and pointed stare.

“I’m only saying,” Magnus starts, perhaps a little over forcefully, but he can’t help but feel far too seen. “Don’t categorize me into just being a dad. Just because I’m a parent doesn’t stop me from living my own life. Let me have this fantasy and… admire the view.”

Catarina hums next to him in assent, before quietly settling in closer to his side and linking their arms in a silent show of support.

Magnus’ lips twitch. He knows full well that he is being over dramatic and so does Catarina. It has been his default behavior when being called out for even longer than they’d been friends, and the unspoken understanding between the two of them fills him with a sense of security he’s never truly replicated with anyone other than Ragnor. 

Catarina’s grasp tightens slightly on his arm as she leans in to whisper conspiratorially in his ear. “He looks at you too, you know.” 

Oh, Magnus is well aware. 

He’d caught him a couple of times. Actually, possibly as many times as Magnus himself had been seen. Magnus had even thought he’d seen him looking over yesterday when he’d first arrived, but by the time Magnus had been able to turn his full attention on him, the man was surrounded by a gaggle of women.

It’s the main reason Magnus hasn’t approached him yet. He refuses to be one of the many fawning school gate moms who converge on the man of Magnus’ dreams daily. 

Without commenting, Magnus turns back round to the playground to see the circle disbanding, most children heading back to say goodbye to their parents before the morning bell can call them in for the official start of the school day.

Rafael and Madzie are making their way over, Rafael chatting energetically alongside Madzie’s quieter contributions. Magnus is pretty sure he can see them both losing the chubbiness of their cheeks a little more each day as they hurtle their way towards their next birthdays and he makes a mental note to text Catarina later to ask what Madzie might like as a gift this year.

“Would you like to finish your juice before going in?” Magnus asks Rafael when they join them. He shakes the carton, its half filled contents sloshing around inside.

Rafael nods quickly, reaching up to accept the rest of the orange juice with a gloved hand.

Next to them Catarina has already unlooped her arm from Magnus’ and is hugging Madzie a firm goodbye, finishing it off with a kiss to her hairline. 

“Do you mind if I dash?” she asks Magnus as she stands back up gracefully. “I know they’ll be going pretty soon but there’s been a spot of flu amongst the staff at work so we’re running a bit short. I’d like to get in a bit early for my split shift if possible.”

Magnus is already nodding in agreement before she’s finished her explanation. He rests a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, smiling at her when she looks up at him. 

“I think I can make sure little Madzie gets in to class with Raf. Isn’t that right, Sweet Pea?”

Madzie gives him a definite nod and waves at Catarina with a broad smile as she beats a hasty retreat back out the school gate.

“Oh, Rafael, which one’s Max?” Magnus suddenly thinks to ask, hoping to see the boy at least once before he turns up on Saturday.

“Mmm…”, Rafael murmurs, continuing to suck away on the straw attached to his juice box. He turns and looks across the playground to check.

Magnus follows his outstretched pointing finger passed Mr Unruly Hair, knelt down and hugging his daughter close in a tight embrace as he says goodbye, to the Asian boy in the green puffer jacket Rafael was next to in the spinning circle earlier, who is now hastily rushing into school.

“Okay, great. Thanks buddy,” Magnus says, ruffling his son’s hair. The wind has already tousled it out of the pushed back style Rafael loves, but if looks could kill, Magnus was sure he would not be long of this world. He’s still chuckling at Rafael’s response when the school bell rings loudly from the main building.

Rafael sucks loudly on the last few dregs in the carton, then shoves it unceremoniously back at Magnus who has to clutch it against his stomach to stop it falling to the floor. Rafael hastily grabs hold of Madzie’s smaller and already outstretched hand.

“Alright, bye you two. Have a lovely day.” Magnus leans down for a kiss on each cheek, first by Raphael on one side and then by Madzie on the other, prior to ushering both children towards the main entrance. “Don’t forget Catarina’s picking both of you up after school,” he calls out to remind them. 

Magnus makes sure they both make it all the way across to the school’s main building and watches until they head through the door together in a crowd of children no taller than his waist. 

Shoving the empty juice box in to one of the few trashcans on the school’s grounds, Magnus quickly starts to stuff his fists into his pockets in order to brace against the chilling wind. He winces, instantly pulling his left hand back out again and trying to shake out the sting. He’d managed to nick himself whilst chopping some fruit at breakfast, embarrassingly distracted by thoughts of this morning’s school drop off. 

He really needed to do something about this crush. He was becoming a danger to himself the longer it went on. 

Magnus raises his hand to assess the damage. The scratchy wool of his coat has irritated the skin around the cut near the tip of his finger, but otherwise there’s no real change since he cleaned it earlier. 

Popping the finger in his mouth in an attempt to sooth it slightly, Magnus lifts his head to find Mr Bed Head is looking at him, his kind eyes lingering on Magnus as he quirks him a crooked grin. 

The playground has thinned out, quite a few parents having already left at the sound of the bell. Miraculously, the final over-friendly mom appears to be making her way out of the school gates opposite Magnus, and the man is at last, finally, alone. 

_Do it now, Bane_, Magnus encourages himself. 

Dropping his hand to his side, Magnus sets his shoulders and draws in a deep and steadying breath, preparing himself.

He’s always been confident and never had an issue in approaching anyone before. It’s just that apparently hazel eyes set his heart racing and make his knees turn weaker than they have ever been before. But now, he reassures himself, he has the benefit of a clear playground and a fuck tonne of determination. 

He takes an initial step forward -

The short red headed teaching assistant from the play darts out from nowhere.... or perhaps she was always just off to the side, in the periphery of Magnus’ vision, but with Magnus’ attention drawn resolutely elsewhere had remained unnoticed. 

She starts talking animatedly with Mr Unfairly Beautiful and although he offers her a warm smile his eyes take quite some time to track away from Magnus, seemingly reluctant.

Typical. Magnus huffs out a small laugh to himself, aborting his movement and resigning himself to another day of pining. 

Tomorrow, then. He was going to speak to him tomorrow.

* * *

_Thursday_

“Raf, come on slow poke. I know it’s unexpected but Daddy’s got to be at work in-“ Magnus checks his watch “-twenty minutes, so we need to get you to Aunt Cat’s in the next ten.”

In fairness to him, Rafael is handling the change of plans a lot better than expected. Magnus just always fails to factor in how sluggish he is first thing and therefore how long it takes him to get up in the morning. Ragnor had once joked that he would have said it were hereditary, were it not for the fact that Rafael was adopted.

“I’m coming!” Rafael calls from the bathroom around a mouthful of toothpaste.

Magnus leans against the kitchen counter to scrawl his signature at the bottom of the hastily written note, folds the paper in half and tucks it into the front pocket of Rafael’s book bag. His son comes racing into the room whilst simultaneously trying to put on his shoes, almost tumbling over with the action.

Magnus inspects his laptop case, peering inside to make sure his charger is in there and zips it up. He was pretty pissed about being called in to the main office at such short notice, hoping instead for his standard day of taking Rafael in to school before settling in to work from home, albeit finishing a little later because of his plans. He’d resolved himself to stick around until at least a few minutes after the school bell again today in order to take the opportunity to finally speak to the man from the school play.

Well, those plans were now shot to hell.

Magnus lifts his laptop case from the kitchen stool and slings the strap over his shoulder, passing Rafael’s book bag to him at the same time. They head out the room and he offers him a big smile, grabbing both his and Rafael’s coats from their respective hooks in the main entrance of the loft.

“Well done, love,” Magnus says, gaining him a toothy grin in response. “I’ve popped a note in your bag for Max’s parents, just checking in about Saturday. Can you make sure they get it for me, please? This isn’t like with Madzie where you two can just make vague plans because Aunt Cat and I know each other so well, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” Rafael says and gives a nod, firm with conviction. He takes Magnus’ hand as they exit the apartment. 

“Thank you,” Magnus says, pleased. He rechecks his watch as the two of them walk along the hallway, reassured that they have enough time to make it to Catarina’s.

“What do you want to do with Max this weekend, anyway? Do you want to go to the park or do you maybe want to make something together?” Magnus asks, stepping inside the elevator at the end of the hall. Rafael reaches out to hit the button to take them down to the lobby and the metal doors slide closed noisily.

“Can we bake?”

Magnus smiles fondly. Saturdays were always baking days if they didn’t already have any other particular plans so he wasn’t surprised at the suggestion.

“Well, does Max like baking?” Magnus queries.

Rafael furrows his brow adorably, his eyebrows knitting together in marked concentration. “I’m pretty sure,” he hesitantly murmurs before a bright smile engulfs his face, “but I can check!”

*

Magnus leaves the soup to cool where it sits on the stove, grateful that his tasks for the day are finally complete. He wanders into the living room, dropping onto the couch with a sigh of relief and attempts to massage the tight knot out of his neck, rolling his head from side to side and pushing the pads of his fingers into the taut muscle. He hates the desks at work. They sit too low, the chairs are uncomfortable and he never has enough space to look at all his designs and stretch out fully.

The faint sound of jingling keys and Catarina letting the kids inside the main door interrupts his internal moaning.

“Dad!?” Rafael yells out to the apartment at large, trying to locate Magnus.

Magnus calls back to him to let him know that he’s currently in the living room. 

The three of them walk through, heavily laden down with school bags and the brightly colored crafts Rafael’s been sent home with from his time at Catarina’s after school.

“Do you two want to stay for dinner?” Magnus asks Catarina. He opens his arms wide for Rafael to fling himself at him on the couch, encircling him for a tight hug. “I’ve made enough already,” Magnus confirms.

Catarina smiles her thanks but shakes her head fondly. “Thanks, but my mom’s coming over tonight and she always treats us to Thai from that place round the corner, so we can’t stay.” 

Magnus refuses to show his jealousy, but Catarina’s shoulder shimmy indicates she is fully aware of how he feels. She knows how much he likes their _tom yam kai_. He juts out his lower lip in a pout that would give Rafael a run for his money and elicits a giggle from Madzie. 

“Aunt Cat and I spoke to Max’s dad after school today,” Rafael says in a rush from his spot still nestled in Magnus’ arms. Magnus has got to give him a certain level of credit for managing to stay quiet up to this point. Rafael’s positively buzzing with the need to release the information he’s so far kept contained. “He said it was totally fine about Saturday and that they’d come over at ten like your letter said. He even asked us to wait so that he could write something back for you. Does that make you pen pals now?”

Catarina is laughing hysterically as she backs her way out of the loft with a waving Madzie. Rafael’s ramblings are always quite amusing but Magnus doesn’t think this particular one was that funny.

* * *

_Friday_

_Hi,_  
_Thanks so much for inviting Max over on Saturday!_  
_Rafael says they’re going to be baking and they both seem really excited about it._  
_Max doesn’t have any allergies - we actually have a cat of our own - but thank you for checking._  
_10 is good for us too, so I’ll bring Max over for then._  
_A.Lightwood (Max’s Dad)_  
_P.S. Blueberry muffins are both mine and Max’s favorite, just in case you were wondering ;)_

A dry chuckle escapes Magnus’ mouth at the cheek of the man as he looks down for the second time that day at the response to his note. 

Max’s dad did deserve credit for trying, though, thinks Magnus. Hence why he is currently situated, half-full basket in hand, in the fresh fruit aisle of the grocery store before he’s planning to collect Rafael from Catarina’s.

The rest of the week had been a total write-off. Work had informed Magnus late yesterday evening that they’d needed him in the main office again today so that he could meet with one of their clients in person. After a cursory text to Catarina to confirm she would be okay to take Rafael in to school once again, Magnus had confirmed he’d be in first thing.

No school drop-off. No chance of seeing Mr Ridiculously Good Looking.

Magnus passes by the rows of apples, stopping in front of the punnets of various berries to select what he needs. 

At least tomorrow should be fun. Baking with Magnus always brought Rafael great happiness, so it was sure to be nice for him to have a friend there enjoying it with him.

* * *

_Saturday_

The buzzer sounds throughout the apartment and Magnus checks the time on the kitchen clock to see the long hand a minute shy of the twelve. Setting down the recipe book, he stands from his spot at the breakfast bar to answer the intercom by the main door, mildly pleased by their visitor’s promptness. 

“Hello?” Magnus says into the entry-phone.

“Hey, it’s Max’s dad,” sounds tinily back at him down the line.

“Come on up,” Magnus responds, pressing the entry button and hearing the lock of the heavy door down on street level disengage through the intercom. “Just knock when you get up to our door.”

“Thanks.”

It normally takes a couple of minutes to reach the apartment from the lobby so Magnus heads back in to the kitchen to make sure all the baking supplies are laid out ready. He’s finishing sorting through the muffin tins when he hears the knocking at the apartment’s door.

Hurrying back along the hallway, Magnus calls out a perfunctory, “Raf, your friend is here,” over his shoulder in an attempt to get his son to join him quickly by the front door and receives an affirmative shout in response.

Magnus swings the door open with a friendly smile to discover Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome standing patiently with his daughter, hand resting on the fabric of the turquoise sweater covering her shoulder.

“Hey, you must be Rafael’s dad,” the girl’s dad offers.

Magnus freezes, smile stuck in situ and hand still locked in place on the door handle as his pulse stutters along his veins to the pattern of the man’s words.

Magnus tries, desperately, to understand what is happening.

Day old scruff and shining eyes greet him expectantly across the entryway. It seems the man doesn’t shave at the weekend, or, at least, not this weekend. Magnus would send a silent prayer of thanks heavenward if he had the current capacity to do anything other than attempt to compose himself. 

Magnus shoots a shocked look back into the apartment as he hears Raphael comes speeding out of his bedroom and barreling towards them, only slowing to a halt in a skid just before the door.

“Max! Wanna come and meet Chairman Meow? He’s in my room.”

Magnus’ stomach drops through his boots. He clears his throat quickly and before the two of them can dash anywhere he interjects with, “Max?” The word feels like cotton in his mouth and he takes a disbelieving look down at the child who he is slowly coming to conclude is Rafael’s friend.

The little blond girl Magnus has long since recognized the face of in the school playground bobs her head at him in confirmation.

All Magnus can do is stand there for a second dumbfounded at his own idiocy. “I’m so sorry,” he finally says, “I feel awful for assuming. I thought Max was going to be a boy.” He has long prided himself on his ability to not make assumptions. Years of having his sexuality labeled one way or another depending on the gender of his partner had given him a determination not to do the same to others. 

“Yeah, we get that a lot,” confirms Max’s dad with an understanding nod and smile. “She hates the name Maxine,” he continues, as if there should have been any need for an explanation in the first place. Magnus could kick himself. 

Max glares up at her dad from her quiet position by his side.

“Can’t be worse than Maximilian, though, right?” Magnus retorts awkwardly, voice quiet and making a weak attempt to pitch up at the end. He feels his cheeks instantly warm.

Rafael shoots Magnus an odd look. “Dad, stop being weird and say hello nicely.” 

Mr Dreamy Pants snorts ungraciously. “I’m Alec, by the way. Alec Lightwood,” he introduces himself. He lifts his left hand from Max’s shoulder, transferring Max’s coat along with his already removed gloves from his right, then extends his now free hand out for a shake. A goofy and absolutely charming smile plasters itself on his face.

Alec’s hand is warm in his, resting palm to palm and shooting electricity straight up Magnus’ arm to his heart where it sputters in his chest.

“Magnus…” he manages to croak out in response.

They both watch as Rafael grabs a hold of Max, running excitedly along the corridor, Rafael proclaiming that Max needs to come and meet The Chairman so that she can tell him whether he can be friends with Church. 

“Church is our cat,” Alec clarifies for him. 

Magnus breathes out an amused huff, turning back to face Alec fully once again. 

Alec, who’s hand is still clutched in his. 

“Well, it’s nice to finally put a name to a face,” Alec says softly.

Magnus clears his throat, releasing Alec’s hand from his own. He’d desperate to regain some equilibrium but has no idea how to start. “Coffee?” he chances, still flustered but not wanting to miss an opportunity for even just five minutes with the man.

Alec nods enthusiastically, stepping through the doorway and surveying the main entrance to Magnus’ loft, if not subtlety then at least with an obvious sense of appreciation. Magnus preens. 

“There, uh, wouldn’t happen to be a chance of any, um, blueberry muffins being included in that offer, would there?” Alec asks, mildly sheepish, and starts to methodically unwind the scarf from around his neck.

Magnus has to bite down on the smile that’s threatening to expose itself on his mouth. Alec’s slight stutter and the way his eyes dance across Magnus’ face indicates he may just be as nervous as Magnus feels.

He can do this.

He might be Rafael’s dad but he’s also Magnus Bane. He knows how to flirt. 

Magnus shuts the front door behind them, collecting the coats and scarves Alec’s holding and hanging them up on the spare hooks. He angles his head towards the kitchen, making a move with Alec in tow. 

“Well, darling, you do get points for being so forward,” Magnus says, grateful his voice sounds relatively normal.

Alec’s flush may be reasonably well hidden by the shadow of his early beard growth, but Magnus can see where the red is steadily working its way down his neck to the top of Alec’s chest at the now uncovered open collar of his forest green cotton shirt. 

They brush up against each other as they walk through to the kitchen and Magnus can’t help but be hyper aware of the goosebumps racing each other up his arm. 

Magnus pulls out the cafetiere and pack of fresh coffee grounds, flicking the hob on to boil the stove-top kettle before turning back to Alec. He rests his back against the kitchen worktop, reclining languidly while attempting to give off an air of relaxation far removed from how he’s feeling

This close, Magnus can see that Alec’s lips are chapped from the cold outside. They glisten slightly in the light of the kitchen, Alec clearly having run his tongue over them at some point in an attempt to sooth them. 

The corner of Alec’s mouth twitches and Magnus jolts his gaze up to find Alec has been watching him stare at his mouth.

A steady silence settles over the two men. There’s very clear tension in the air but Magnus is pleased to note that it’s not uncomfortable, just present. 

Alec tugs his lips between his teeth and bites down as he takes the chance to look around the kitchen. 

Late November sun shines through the kitchen window and Magnus finds himself once again getting lost in the warm gold-greens picked out in Alec’s hazel eyes. The tones fill Magnus’ mind with images of lazy afternoons, basking in the glow of summer sunshine and curling up together on the over-sized couch in the oft, each with a good book in hand.

Magnus pulls himself out of his reverie to the sound of Rafael and Max conversing with Chairman Meow and the reality of the day is present once again. He notices that Alec has spotted the fresh sitting on the kitchen counter next to the other baking supplies.

“They are going to take quite some time to bake, you know. Especially with the kids involved. They might not be ready for a couple of hours and I’m not sure whether you were planning on sticking around that long…?” Magnus trails off, posing the question pointedly.

Alec gently rests his hands on the back of one of the breakfast bar stools, settling in for the long haul. He looks over, straight at Magnus, open and sincere. 

“I’ve got time,” he says.

His smile is blinding.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on twitter [@Fire_and_Wine_](https://twitter.com/Fire_and_Wine_)


End file.
